It's Been 36 Years, Lionel Messi Hasn't Thought About Retiring

Argentine national team player, Lionel Messi. (Photo: Twitter @Argentina)

JAKARTA - Argentina's national team player, Lionel Messi, is still actively playing at the age of 36. There are no plans in Messi's mind to retire.

The former Barcelona player and Paris Saint-Germain said he did not know when to decide to end his international career.

"Even I don't know when (I'm going to stop playing football). It will happen when it happens," Messi was quoted as saying by AFP via Antara.

"After winning everything, I wanted to enjoy the moment and waited time to tell me when it was time (I was hanging up my shoes)," continued the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Messi added that an aging age and not as physical as he used to be was one of the factors that made an athlete decide to retire from his professional career.

"Logicnya, mengingat usia saya, orang-orang akan berekspektasi bahwa saya akan segera (pensiun), tapi saya tidak tahu pasti. Terlebih, sekarang kami adalah juara Amerika (Argentina memenangkan Copa America 2021) dan juara dunia, kami harus menikmati momen ini," ujar dia.

Meanwhile, he reiterated the previous statement that he was unlikely to be in the Argentina squad while trying to defend his title at the 2026 World Cup.

This he revealed in China last month, when Messi scored the fastest goal in his career after just 79 seconds in a friendly against Australia in Beijing, which resulted in a 2-0 final score for Argentina.

On the other hand, Messi earlier this week arrived in Florida to give a final touch on his move to Paris Saint-Germain's Inter Miami MLS club. Messi is believed to be signing a 2.5-year contract worth US$60 million a year.